WEST DES MOINES, Iowa – Saturday, June 29, 2013 – As the calendar flips to July, the Des Moines Menace prepares for four must-win matches to close the Premier Development League season.

After topping the Twin Cities BK Voyageurs, 2-1, in an exhibition tonight at Valley Stadium, the Menace enters the home stretch with a shot of confidence.

Garrett Halfhill and Jimmy Tulloch scored for Des Moines, which has won back-to-back matches for the first time since stringing together three straight wins in a May that was highlighted by a run to the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

Set up by David Santamaria, Tulloch’s game-winner came in the 73rd minute – nine minutes after the Voyageurs’ Tyler Tumburg evened the match.

“Good to get the victory for the team. It was a good goal for the team,” Tulloch said. “Our mindset is ‘win or go home.’ Our focus is on winning. Got to come together as a team and get the 12 points.”

With his first goal of the season, Halfhill broke a scoreless match in the 36th minute. He collected a rebound off Twin Cities BK goalie Mitch Wolff’s hands, and tapped in the score.

“It felt really good,” Halfhill said. “It came at the right time. We were struggling to put it into the net, and I thought it propelled us forward.”

Head coach Mike Jeffries’ team heads to St. Louis (July 6) and Kansas City (July 9), before finishing at home against Real Colorado (July 13) and St. Louis (July 20).

These matches loom large, as the Menace tries to stay in the hunt for the Heartland Division’s second and final spot in the PDL playoffs. Trailing perfect-record Thunder Bay (10-0-0) are Des Moines (4-5-1, 13 points), Springfield (3-4-3, 12 points), Real Colorado (3-2-1, 10 points), and Kansas City (3-3-1, 10 points).

MAN of the MATCH, presented by Seneca Companies, goes to: Jimmy Tulloch, who scored the game-winner. Tulloch leads the team with four goals (including two in league play). Tulloch is a native of Kingston, Jamaica, who prepares for his final season at Central Florida.

UP NEXT: The Menace hits the road for a pair: next Saturday (July 6) at St. Louis and Tuesday, July 9 at Kansas City. The team closes with a pair at home: July 13 against Real Colorado and July 20 against St. Louis.

ABOUT THE MENACE: The Des Moines Menace provides the highest level of soccer in Iowa. In its 20th season, the Menace men’s side competes in the 65-team United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League (PDL). The Menace’s women’s team enters the Women’s Premier Soccer League in 2013, after debuting as the Women’s League Soccer 2012 champions. The Menace teams play their home matches in a fun, family-friendly environment at Valley Stadium in West Des Moines. The organization promotes a healthy lifestyle through its popular youth programs, including the Menace Academy (select soccer for ages 9-19), camps, clinics, Junior Menace and tournaments.